Twee Merrigan came hohm as promised and shared a truly refreshing weekend here at American Yogini. We have had a steady stream of juice cleansers here at our American Yogini HOhm, so I rarely have the pleasure of preparing and enjoying vegan food, both cooked and uncooked with my friends. We invited guests into the kitchen to help prepare raw zuchinni blossoms stuffed with parsnip cashew puree, thai spring rolls made by our newest juice fast coach, Shawn Williams ( picture coming soon!), vegan strawberry ice cream parfaits ( local, organic, yummmmm), frozen raw chocolate mouse, corn salad, guacamole, oh my so much more. it was amazing and Charles and I are still enjoying the leftovers ( when our juice guests are not looking of course!).
And then there was….Twee. Well this sweeeeeet yogini master, yoga journal cover girl ( December 2007) and Yoga Journal Calendar model, and world tour teacher graciously and incredibly stopped when passing through New York on her “Soul Connections Tour”. Her two hour classes poolside were so refreshing, and we all basked in her clear benevolent energy. The vibe was so chill, all our guests the kindest souls on the planet. Saturday night, after dinner we sat around the fire outside and guess what????? Oh, we layed our heads back upon the pool lounges and looked up at the starry sky to catch…..a METEOR SHOWER! No kidding! Shooting star’s every where I looked! The weekend could not have been any more magical. Just what we needed. Oh and the new zen garden was completed the day before Twee arrived. That itself was miraculous, the work of Super Man Charles Wildbank, of course!
Gratitude! So much Gratitude! I have some very exciting news to reveal to you soon! Stay tuned!
What is the point of cleansing the body, living clean, getting clean, with fasting and juices and raw foods only to dump chemicals into your cells through your skin while enjoying an innocent swim????
Well, we have been so eager to get the swimming pool open for the season. Still too cold for anyone to use it, but it looks so pretty. We opted for a salt water pool when we put it in last summer just after moving in here to our Jamesport location, our house that is named “hohm.” We opted for salt water because we wanted a chemical free swim for ourselves and our guests. We enjoyed that sweet soft and pretty and clean water all summer of 2007. Then came the “Closing of the Pool”. We learned about algae, and pool closings and that salt water actually turns into chlorine when the pool is up and running. what a shocker! A greatly reduced amount of chlorine, true but it does create chlorine, which of course is then absorbed into the body during an innocent swim! WELL, hours and hours of researching on the internet, we learned about COPPER IONIZATION. Apparently the only way to have a truly chlorine and chemical free pool. In order to make the switch, we had to have the chemicals dumped into our sacred pool ( so sad), minimally, and use not salt water but plain water plus a whole lot of baking soda and …we are not sure what we will use in the end when the ionization supplies get here but it seems we will use hydrogen peroxide. Charles is determined to test the water daily, or twice daily and adjust it by hand carefully to get the right balance so the pool can be changed over from salt, to chlorine then over to the copper ionization. We are now waiting for the arrival of our new copper ionization system and when it gets here and the pool is swim ready we will let you all know how it goes and share with you our rescources in case you are wanting to change over your pool too. It is a really important thing to do, not only for the environment ( that chemical water is deadly to the ground water and plants surrounding your home) but of course, for yourselves and your families. Especially if you have little children swimming around!
Make the dragon flies happy and get the chlorine OUT of your pool! Stay tuned!
I am so THRILLED to be finally offering a program that can guide teachers to introduce and coach others the miraculous process of juice fasting, juice feasting, and yogic cleansing rituals!. I have recieved so many requests for a teacher training program, it has been overwhelming this past year, so I am very happy and proud to be offering this to you with our first group of trainees to complete our program this June here in New York, with future trainings in California, Chicago and Houston. Stay very tuned in so you can learn how you can become a Certified Juice Fast Coach with American Yogini this year, and start sharing this important practice with others. Stay tuned! Our first tele-conference information session will take place on two occasions this month, and then every week until the start of our program this June. Check the June calendar on the website for more details and dates.
The lymphatic system runs just under the skin, wherever you have skin surface. If I knew when my babies were little, what I know now, I would have started dry skin brushing them with a soft chamoise brush, the day they were born. The thing about the lymph system- the network that produces and carries lymph ( that’s the WATER in our bodies and control central for our immunity), is that , unlike our blood that is pumped powerfully along by the heart, the lymph cannot move unless WE move. So if we are not excersising, or if we assume habitual postures that create certain parts of the body not to move, the lymph will stop moving, it will be slow and sluggish and you will FEEL slow and sluggish. If we really go long stretches of time without moving these body areas ( front of chest and underarms , or front groins that close down when we sit for long periods of time), it might stop moving altogether and the lymph, just like a river that has pooled and stopped moving, will putrify and not do what it is meant to do: MOVE toxins, cancer, and virus’s OUT of the body. Lymph moves TOWARD the heart. Sweet. Lymph is also a greenish color. Sweeter. Green is the color vibration of the heart chakra, it is the color of the sun’s energy. Blood moves out from the heart with our heart beat speeding it along. Lymph moves in toward the heart with our body movement pushing it along.There is nothing better you can do during your juice fast, juice feast, and every day of your life than dry skin brush.
Q- What creates more illness: stress or poor nutrition?
A- Stress
Of these two stress is first. (Are you an “emotional” eater?)
Stress is the source. Stress is what lands within the nervous system when we experience conflicting beliefs.
Usually YOUR true inner voice conflicting with the voices of others who are around you. Parents, family members, friends, even the voices of the media: commercials and magazines telling us we are not right without certain products, and worse – certain drugs. Conflict arises when your own TRUTH speaks to you and you ignore it because you love these people and you want their approval and love back in return. FEAR of not being loved can cause us to ignore our own inner voice. Because your truth is your TRUTH, You will still feel this voice deep inside, so the resulting conflict is what shapes you. Literally: it SHAPES you. Your bodies are shaped by your truth or by your conflict. Your posture, the thickness of your waist or your hips, the face you see in the mirror each day. If you do not like what you see in the mirror, consider if you are living in a stress filled existence full of information and advice that is in direct conflict with your inner voice. Consider if you have even allowed your inner voice to be heard, not only by the world around your but by your very own self? Sometimes it’s hard to hear what our truth is, what we want, what makes us FEEL GOOD, through the cacophony of advertisements, well intended family, friends and co-workers.
Raw Juice Fasting is so much more than lightening up the body, although it is perfect for just that. Your juice fast is the time to just DO NOTHING. Relax into nothingness, let yourself just be yourself, let yourself quiet down and listen to what your body is telling you. Without the noise and distractions of your daily routine lives you can really drop down into yourself and learn who your are, what you want, tuning into YOUR OWN truth. This is the only way to eliminate illness-creating stress caused by information that is in direct conflict with our inner guidance. So do yourself a big favor and DO NOTHING.
Just let it be OK to BE for a few days while you enjoy your juice cleanse. When you come out the other side you will find yourselfconfidently knowing your own truth and moving closer each time you come to this practice toward a stress free and happier life.
We are having an amazing Valentines Day already.This is one of our beautiful guest’s morning treat. Watermelon juice with a hint of ginger, tulips, and- could this be more appropriate?– her juice coaster calling our her intention for LOVE.
American yogini in the snow! It has been mostly pretty warm, but we have gotten just enough snow to look like a pretty candy land while we cozy up to the fire for juice fasting while in hibernation!
Many guests love to do thier annual juice fast in winter when they are in a natural resting state. Guests tend to enjoy sleeping in and taking yoga class later in the day in front of the fireplace.
So much so fast so wonderful so perfect! Just got the first great photos of our new place here for American Yogini, and we are calling it HOHM! Trademark in place, organic drapes, zero voc paints, sustainable cork floors….we even did a salt water swimming pool! It was like one of those tv shows where they build a house in a week. Only we did it in 5 months between July and December. Raw juice fast retreats have continued, the online store is still getting polished up, and exciting products ready to roll out.
This kitchen will be the site of many raw food, juicing, and natural yet modern hohm keeping videos.
What is true in your hohm, in your life and your surroundings is true in your body too. That is what and how we teach yoga here at American Yogini Juice Fast retreats, and I am so excited to share all this. We are just brimming with action here! Our retreats have been full or nearly full every week even as new furniture is delivered and we find optimal places for our fantastic new products. We are so GRATEFUL for all this! In February video production should be well underway.
In the mean time, post a comment in our blog here to let us know what you most would like to learn and see in our vegan and raw kitchen.
Ana Brett is just the cutest yogini ever! I love every style of yoga, but kundalini takes me to infinity without fail at warp speed.
Look how fun this is, more like “party yoga” as a past guest, once refered to it.
